for it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace and the conditions for sustainable development must be built. ~UNESCO

Monday, March 28, 2016

Urgent! Lobesa Needs Waste Services


Lobesa is a small and busy (to- be satellite) town under Punakha dzongkhag. The townlet has grown from a few hundreds to many thousands today (It would be 15000 plus people if roughly estimated). Lobesa boasts of 2 schools, the College of Natural Resources, Wangdi Forestry  head office, a PWD branch, about 150 plus shops, a bustling 7 days vegetable market, a BPC (Bhutan Power Corporation) office, RBA firing range, a Bhutan Telecom office, few tourist hotels, some mechanical workshops, branch offices of most government offices and ofcourse the neighbouring villages.

However, like most prosperous settlements, waste is becoming a sad rising concern. The town had a waste service that was initiated by PHPA in the past but the service is no more there (I couldn't figure out the specific reasons). Few residents burn their wastes near their houses, some dump it in the pits (allocated and unallocated), the favourable ones drive it to Bajo to dispose it in the skippy bins near the Wangdi vegetable market and Bajo but many resort to throwing it everywhere and anywhere convinient. The area is getting dirtier by time.  Every nook and corners, drains and brooks, and open fields below the highway become easy places to dispose household and other wastes. The unhealthy waste management added to the dusty roads is posing a big concern to the erstwhile beautiful town's cleanliness and sanitation apart from other many consequences. There so much of waste to see that it has made the town look as dirty as the word itself.

Hence, the waste management issue in Lobesa has become a challenge that needs immediate attention and action. The waste management problem in Lobesa would be easily solved if we had a waste collection service, even once a week service would greatly help. It has outgrown so much that awareness won't work. So the repecteive authorities' intervention and action would be a working solution.

Waste is a concern everywhere and its mmanagement has become  a major challenge. Lobesa's waste issue is a managable concern for now but if immediate services are not put in  place, it would become very difficult to manage.

Disclaimer: The figures in the post  are based on estimates and informal interviews with residents. Nevertheless, the claim of not having waste service, the growing ugliness of Lobesa and the need for an immediate intervention is very true.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

A New Member to the ASPnet UNESCO Clubs in Bhutan

16th March, 2016, Lobesa LSS in Punakha joins the group of many schools with ASPnet UNESCO clubs in Bhutan and is in the process of getting registered as an officially registered club. UNESCO clubs in Bhutan are doing great in the schools and it is one of the most functional clubs in schools. My brief pep talk on the club drew a huge crowd and I had to literally send back students with sorry faces. The members list of 2016 boasts of 22 boys and 18 girls and the club is yet to be joined by another teacher coordinator. The club's first gathering of an hour was filled with introduction of the club, the mandates, activities and of building a strong foundation of the club.

The members agreed to start off the club with dedication and highest hopes! And with prayers too.